my life in pictures and words

Archive for the category “sewing”

My cousin had a baby boy last year and for his gift, I made him a blanket. Similar to his cousin’s but with dinosaurs. His mom’s baby shower was themed with dinosaurs. I found these really cute dino prints that weren’t too baby and that coordinating hexagon print had the perfect colors.

All sewn up!

The light blue minky is the backing.

I also made these single layer wet bags. I found this cute dino print in the baby section near the cloth diaper materials.

I included two books that were on their registry and one Berenstain book dino themed. I love handmade gifts. =)

Last year I got the chance to test a few secret patterns for Sew Caroline; she was collaborating with a fellow pattern maker.

Katie Skoog of Simple Life Patterns and Sew Caroline Sewing Patterns have collaborated to bring you Mommy and Me patterns! She has taken a few of Sew Caroline patterns and downsized them to fit your kiddos and we have upsized a few of hers to fit ladies!
– SLPCO x SC

Making these woven tops has me wanting more. I wasn’t too sure if I’d like the collar on the Molly but it turns out that I really like it. The button placket in the back was also really fun to make. It was my first ever!

This mermaid tail blanket for my niece. I think I might’ve made it too long but hopefully as she grows she’ll still want to wear it. I had to do a self draft based on a few photos I had screenshot from around the internet.

This is her the night she opened it up!

For my brothers, I made these key ring chap stick holders. They really like Natural Ice chap stick. And for all the moms on my list, I made these first aid kits. I included chap stick, neosporin, bandaids, advil, candy, alcohol wipes, tissues, and gauze pads.

I got this idea from seeing a bunch of quiet books and latch boards. I thought about marrying the two and this is what I came up with. I LOVE this! I call it a busy mat.

These are I Spy bags. I might have filled up that truck one a little too much but it still works. haha!

These are blocks. I actually learned a lot while making these and even made a few more since. They’re super cute and the different textures of material offer more than just something to play with.

These were zipper bags I made for my new coworkers.

The left photo shows a stand mixer cover that I based on the one I had purchased for myself before I started sewing. The right photo is a lunch bag that my brother ordered for my sil for her birthday. I just was unable to get it to her until Christmas.

I had a great time sewing all these gifts. I wish I had gotten to sew more in 2017 but I didn’t. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make more of them in 2018.

This was another swap I participated in sometime in 2016. The swap was to use Jeni Baker’s Lined Drawstring Bag tutorial. My partner said she loved motorcycles and Tula Pink prints. So I found some super cute prints and got to work. I felt like making just two wouldn’t be even enough so I made three.

This is the one that I received. She went out of her way to include a bunch of different prints and made it two sided! I love the colors!!

These are also some other items she included in my package.

It was super fun shopping for fabric and making a new bag. I learned a few techniques that have helped me in my projects since.

I made this Fancy Tiger Sailor Top in knit. It is a wearable muslin but I just don’t dig it. It was a good learning experience to make it, though. Since the pattern is made for wovens I sized down for this knit and because it is knit I didn’t finish the hem. But I also didn’t finish the hem because I am lazy. Haha…story of my life.

Since knit is a bit forgiving I made a muslin in woven out of actual muslin I got from Joann’s. I didn’t realize it until after I was already done but I sewed one of the arms on backwards. Oops. Oh well, I made sure to watch for that when I made my real one.

Here is the real one. I made sure that the arms were sewn on the correct side.

This was a tester version of Sew Caroline’s Parkside Shorts and Skirt. I still haven’t made any more since but I think I will this summer. That patchwork one is printed like that. I did not make it. I think the next time I make the skirt I’ll probably shorten it by a few inches. It looks too long.

This Sew House Seven Bridgetown Backless Dress is so cute on everyone in all the pictures! This is a “wearable” muslin but I don’t really wear it because I don’t really like the way it looks on me. I didn’t make any adjustments so that was my first problem. I definitely need to shorten it but I think I also need to shorten (?) tighten (?) the armholes. It looks just too big. Either that or I just prefer the armholes smaller.

Another Sew Caroline tester. This is the Magnolia Shorts. These shorts are sweet in that they look like a skirt but they’re actually shorts!!

I made this Made By Rae Ruby Top and put a label on it so I knew which was the back. Haha..of course looking at this top you’d be able to tell which is the front and which is the back. But I thought I was being funny and clever with that little saying so I just HAD to sew it on!! Of course I haven’t taken a picture of the whole thing yet but I will soon. And when I do, hopefully I’ll remember to post it on IG and blog it! hahahaha…we’ll see about that. =)

I also made my sil-S this Ruby Dress. She’s Lilo from Lilo and Stitch! And my niece is Lilo also!!

I made this cute Christmas sweater-ish Hey June Handmade Union St. Tee with fabric I found at an LA lqs. Turns out it’s a Girl Charlee print! This cut is the older version. The link is to the new one.

My last 2016 make was Sew Caroline’s Downtown Tunic. And it literally was my last make as I finished it up on 31 December 2016 at like 8:00 pm. I really like it since I can wear it with leggings..no waist restraint!!

I think that’s the rest of my 2016 makes. I can’t guarantee it, though. I might find some more and post them later. Now onto all things made in 2017. Only a year behind!! Yea right, I still got some 2016 makes to share!!!